SPORT llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ntnews.com.au All or nothing for rivals

By GREY MORRIS half-forward, while in-form Eagle Mitchell Taylor’s PAUL Motlop reckons the St Wanderers and Saints fight to stay alive match-up with Saints skipper Marys monkey that rode on Peter MacFarlane could de- the back of Wanderers sides mer nemesis, as well as their Waratahs and we need to re- importance of finals success Football purists have some cide the match. for three decades has finally come-from-behind win in the peat that, especially the good for them.’’ mouth-watering match-ups in The other end of the ground been removed. last minor round game. start we got.’’ Motlop confirmed his ne- front of them today. will have it own contest, with Last year’s NTFL grand ‘‘I don’t think the psycho- But Motlop is wary of a St phew Daniel would miss the The return of speedster Ben veteran Saints full-back John finalists meet in a knockout logical hold Saints had on us Marys side stung by a rare semi with a hamstring strain. Rioli to the St Marys backline Anstess handed a stopping final at TIO Stadium today, is what it used to be,’’ he said. qualifying final loss at the ‘‘Daniel could have played is sure to create a contest role on Adam Cook. knowing the season is over ‘‘We’ve evened things up hands of the Tiwi Bombers. but we’ve decided to rest him with Jerry Wilson, who boot- Wanderers will wear black for the losing side. from a lot of hard work and ‘‘They’ll come at us hard,’’ and have him raring to go ed six goalslast week. armbands after the death of Motlop said his Eagles have confidence among the he said. with about three or four oth- Iggy Vallejo and Brad Vass- Margaret Cooper, the wife of learnt a lot from last season’s players. Last week proved ‘‘We know how St Marys ers who just missed out this al looms as an intriguing the club’s dual Nichols medal- grand final win over their for- that, with the good win over play these games and the week,’’ he said. match-up at half-back and list Ted Cooper. Cats show Suns Players just how it’s done mourn

GOLD Coast’s pre-season Former league star Karmi- PUB: examination became a ma- chael Hunt had a solid outing father’s sterclass last night as reign- in the midfield. ing premiers Geelong belted He was tackled heavily by TNEWS NT the Suns by 49 points in the Cats superstars death NAB Cup at Metricon and but boun- Stadium. ced up both times like they’d TIWI Bomber James Suns coach Guy McKenna barely rattled his cage. Puautjimi has pulled out of had been keen to test his Hunt had some nice today’s second semi-final young side against a develop- touches in his one half of foot- clash with minor premier ing Cats outfit featuring just ball, but his ability to win the Nightcliff following

DATE: seven premiership players, ball in close wasn’t reflected the tragic death of his but they weren’t up to the in his six disposals. father yesterday. same standard, going down Suns 17-year-old Jaeger Puautjimi’s father, 45, 1.16.13 (118) to 1.8.12 (69). O’Meara provided a second- went missing late on Thurs-

3-MAR-2012 Aside from promising half highlight with a superb day night after his dinghy signs by with left-foot snap from the pocket capsized. Police found his 3.4 and a super-goal up front, for his first goal for the club. body washed up on Melville the Suns had few reasons to Last year, the Suns suf- Island yesterday. smile as Geelong dominated fered 66-point and 150-point James’ sisters, St Marys’ from start to finish. losses to the Cats, but that footballers Jamie-Lee and Bock at least showed he was against full-strength Natasha, were to play in to- could be the Gold Coast’s Geelong sides and last night’s day’s NTFL women’s forward-line answer, even if loss showed they were still preliminary final against PAGE: he is suspended until round well off the pace. Palmerston but it is believed three after last year’s betting Brownlow medallist Bartel the family has gathered infringements. was Geelong’s best with three together on the islands. Gold Coast briefly led twice goals and 26 disposals, while Bombers coach Leigh 54 in the first quarter and out- All Australian defender Crossman, who lives on the scored Geelong in the third Harry Taylor prowled the islands, said the death

COLOR: term, but they were consist- backline with authority col- would devastate the Tiwi ently off the pace and lacked lecting 18 possessions. community, but hopes the the same skill level as their Even with such a deci- team can get a win and opponents. mated team, Geelong still advance through to the Suns skipper Gary Ablett showed that its structure and NTFL grand final. led the way with 24 possess- depth remains at the fore- ‘‘It’s weighing on every-

C ions and two goals, while front of the AFL and the Cats one’s minds,’’ he said. ‘‘He , will be another serious prem- was a father, uncle, cousin M and Sam Iles were other iership contender in 2012. to many — he helped bring

Y standouts. The Suns head to Albury up a lot of the guys. Prestia did well to recover next week to face fellow ‘‘We will do a few different K from a heavy front-on bump AFL newcomers Greater things as a team to make from teammate Campbell Western Sydney, while sure everyone’s all right. We Brown in a comical first- the Cats are set to face have to rally to do every- quarter collision. Richmond. thing possible to give Jimmy a positive note.’’ James was a former SCORES Saints player before switch- ing to the Bombers, GEELONG 0.4.3 0.9.6 0.11.10 1.16.13 (118) 1.2.2 1.3.6 1.7.10 1.8.12 (69) while his sisters are two of NINE POINTERS — Geelong: J Selwood. Gold Coast: N Bock. the St Marys women’s big- GOALS — Geelong: J Bartel 3 G Horlin-Smith 2 S Motlop 2 T Hawkins 2 C gest stars. Guthrie J Schroder J Stringer M Brown S Hogan S Kersten T West. Gold Police are still investig- Coast: N Bock 3 G Ablett 2 C Brown J O’Meara L Russell. ating the circumstances BEST — Geelong: J Bartel H Taylor T Hunt C Guthrie T West J Selwood S around the death but say it Hogan. Gold Coast: G Ablett H Bennell N Bock S Iles D Prestia. is not suspicious. Umpires: Scott Jeffery, Shane McInerney, Andrew Mitchell. — JESS WEBSTER and Venue: Gold Coast Stadium. Territorian flies high to provide the spoil for the Suns Picture: DAVID CLARK ELLIE TURNER

FOOTROT FLATS 1080127v4 Ruck an option for Folau

GREATER Western ‘‘He’ll learn to play Sydney will leave no AFL in lots of pos- stone unturned as they itions,’’ Sheedy said seek to find Israel yesterday. Folau’s best fit on the ‘‘We’ll play him in the AFL field. ruck, so he’ll learn Folau was expected to about that. play predominantly as a ‘‘He’s got a fantastic key forward this year, spring. He’s got magnif- having looked his best icent, huge hands, so he in attack during the can push the ball down. 2011 NEAFL season, but ‘‘We’re exploring all coach Kevin Sheedy re- of those avenues for vealed that may not be him to develop and keep the case. improving.’’

54 NT NEWS. Saturday, March 3, 2012. www.ntnews.com.au